I won’t talk about the latest Sony PSN fiasco. It’s been covered extensively and I don’t feel I have anything to offer on the subject. I will however contribute to Sony’s disgrace by testifying a personal experience regarding their customer service and warranty policy. I strongly feel that a company of that size, is more than able to handle and pay attention to it’s customers and that it has the means to keep them happy and returning.

Last year, I purchased a pair of wireless headphones from a very well known computer store. I am aware that as to sound quality is concerned, wireless headphones are not the ideal solution but I assure you I chose them carefully. For almost a year, they functioned perfectly and by that I mean adequately taking wireless disadvantages into consideration. Two months before the warranty expired, my headphones decided it was time they gave up on me and just like any consumer would do, I contacted the place I purchased them from. They told me that the warranty would be covered by Sony, not them, so I were to contact Sony and sort it out by myself.

As it turns out, Sony does not accept calls or returns directly, you have to go to an authorized dealer first. I found one near where I live and I called them. They told me to return the broken headphones to them and they would send them to Sony to be repaired. In case they could not be repaired, they would be replaced. On January 14th I dropped my headphones off to the dealer. They asked a lot of my personal information, including my phone number, and gave me a nice receipt. And then, they told me that I had to call them in one week to see what had happened! In that case why did you ask for my phone number people? Despite that, I called them about a week later and they told me that my headphones were sent to Sony and they still waited for an answer as to if they would be repaired or replaced.

It would be very funny if I had kept an accurate log of my phone calls, which were plenty, but since I haven’t, let me tell you that a month and a half later, they told me that they still had no answer from Sony and gave me a number to call Sony Hellas directly. Of course I did. Of course they told me, that they had already authorized a replacement but as it always happens in such cases, I had to send the dealer a fax with my written agreement for the replacement. I wanted to ask what would happen if I did not agree, but I was so angry that I forgot. I called the dealer and told them what I had just been told. So, I sent them the fax, on which they asked me to write an address so they would know where to deliver my new headphones and all was well, right?

My new headphones arrived on April the 20th. That is 4 months and 5 days since I dropped mine off to the dealer. Four months and five days!

The only way this is excusable, is if they forced some poor Chinese guy assemble a pair of headphones just for me and had him walk all the way from China to Greece to bring them here! Come on! If we were talking about some expensive piece of equipment, perhaps I would understand, but all that trouble for a pair of headphones that costs $80? Wouldn’t it be simpler if I returned them to the place I originally bought them and they gave me a new pair? Even if they could be repaired, I am sure I would cost Sony more, than to just give me another pair and be over with. Really Sony?

I don’t know how this works where you live, but I don’t think I want to go through this again.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. If there’s one thing I’ve learned all these years I mess with computers, is that nothing is unbreakable. Apparently, George Hotz believes the exact same thing. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Hotz was the one who first managed to unlock the iPhone, so it would work with any carrier.